East African Police Chiefs Discuss Crime In Seychelles

Panafrican News Agency, 14 December 2000

Port Louis, Mauritius - Seychelles Commissioner of Police, Andre Quilindo, has underscored the need for an effective police training in a bid to match increasing pressure from criminals.

He said criminals all over the world were becoming more professional as a result of scientific and technological advancement which was "widening the realm of criminal activities and making them more sophisticated".

Speaking Wednesday at the opening of a three-day workshop organised by the Eastern African Police Chiefs Committee or EAPCCO in Mauritius, Quilindo said crime was a serious hindrance to any country's development.

He said criminal activities threatened the integrity and personal safety of all people.

Among other things, the Police chiefs are discussing ways on how to improve co-operation and training of their personnel in the region.

The workshop is in consonance with a resolution adopted at the third EAPCCO meeting held in Khartoum, Sudan, in June this year.

EAPCCO functions under the ICPO Interpol Sub-Regional Bureau, based in Nairobi, Kenya.

It comprises of Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Seychelles, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.

However, only four of these countries namely, Seychelles, Sudan, Kenya and Tanzania are represented at the workshop.

Mauritius Assistant Commissioner of Police, Tite Morin, told reporters that while police in the various countries represented at the workshop were faced with slightly different problems, Seychelles police main concern was drugs.

He said the major concern of some of the police in the region range from fighting terrorism to car theft.